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Will Nokia's move into Android devices have an impact on the smartphone market?

I was surprised to hear that Windows Phone darlings Nokia are reportedly releasing an Android phone. It seems like a pretty crowded marketplace already, but Nokia does have a lot of experience, and even though I’m not a Windows Phone user, some of the Nokias are pretty sweet. When are we going to see the new Nokia in the US, and what does it bring to the party that’s different from existing options?

Nope, Samsung reigns supreme in Android-land. I doubt many people will even know that Nokia has made an Android phone. Nokia's days of being a force in phones are over, and I don't see them coming back any time soon.

Don’t hold your breath...everything I’ve heard indicates that the new Nokia Android phone will not be for US markets. It is almost certainly a low end Android device that was built to a price point, not the flagship products that Nokia is capable of making. Keep in mind, Nokia has a very strong presence in emerging markets, and it appears that is the target for this device. I suspect Nokia simply looked at the numbers and saw that Android has the largest share of the worldwide market by far, approximately 80%, while Windows accounts for about 3% of worldwide sales. When a company is struggling as Nokia is currently, it comes down to a pretty simple equation: 80>3. Perhaps Nokia will take what it learns and develop Android devices to compete at the high end in the US, or come up with a truly impressive low cost device, but I don’t expect to see that for a year or two at least.